Killing of Kitty Kumarmangalam: Third suspect in Vasant Vihar murder case held
The three suspects went to Kitty’s house in Vasant Vihar’s Block A on the evening of July 6.
Suraj Budhe, one of the suspects involved in the murder of Kitty Kumarmangalam, wife of former Union minister PR Kumaramangalam, at her house in Vasant Vihar last week has been arrested from Madhya Pradesh, the Delhi Police said on Monday.
PR Kumaramangalam was the Union minister of power between 1998 and 2000 during the first National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
The police earlier arrested two people — Raju Lakhan Kanojia, 24, and Rakesh Raj, 34 — in the case. The three suspects went to Kitty’s house in Vasant Vihar’s Block A on the evening of July 6, where they smothered her to death, robbed the house of cash and valuables, and strangled Kitty’s domestic help, Mithila, who survived the attack. She then informed the police, afterwhich Raju, who ran a laundry, and his accomplice Rakesh Raj, a driver, were arrested within 24 hours of the crime.
Investigators said they tracked down a driver, who drove 36-year-old Budhe to Jaipur in his cab. “Budhe left Delhi the morning after the murder. We identified the driver who took him to Jaipur. That man is now our key witness. He told us Budhe purchased a cell phone in Jaipur,” said a police officer.
The investigating team then checked the SIM card and IMEI number of the phone which Budhe bought in Jaipur. Deputy commissioner of police(south west) Ingit Pratap Singh said that on July 10, police identified the user of that phone as one Chhotu Adiwasi, a resident of Tikamgarh district in Madhya Pradesh.
“We learnt that he is Budhe’s brother-in-law. On further analysis, we found that the user was in Tikamgarh. A team was sent there and, with the help of the local police, raided the accused’s hideout, where Budhe and his wife and children were staying,” DCP Singh said, adding that Budhe was arrested from the spot. Police also recovered about 520gm of gold and 400gm silver ornaments, and a stolen phone from his possession.
Police personnel claimed that Budhe confessed to them that he joined the other two in committing the crime due to losses in his business.
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